PPQ Dungeness Island

Citysearch Editorial Review. Dungeness Crab is not a traditional Vietnamese dish, but given the crowds of shell-cracking diners at PPQ Dungeness Island, you wouldn't know it. PPQ specializes in Dungeness, offering it in five different sauces. The name is derived from a Vietnamese island where the owner's father used to fish before the family moved to San Francisco in 1975, and the campy, fun decor-- faux palm trees, a mural of a white sand beach, a little palapa-style reed roof above the register--is all about setting that tropical island mood. At $38 a plate, the Dungeness isn't cheap, but for those not feeling spendy or in the modd for more traditional Vietnamese fare, the pho, peppercorn chicken wings, and five spice chicken don't disappoint.…

Great service, yummy crabs. After reading reviews about how horrible the service was but how they had awesome crabs, we went prepared for bad service. We went a little early, 6:30pm, before the crowd got in. We got seated promptly and had fantastic service all evening. I dropped my crab fork on the floor. I picked it up and placed on my table not knowing that anyone saw and one of the waiters replaced it in a flash.

The shrimp soup was delicious with a fantastic balance between sweet and sour. Both the pepper crab and roasted crab were pretty good. A little too much garlic in the garlic noodle.…

My MOST horrible dining experience!. What ever happened to customer service?Keep in mind that I was not asking for a discount or for anything free.I was surprised by the proposed bill for 40 adults,$1000.00 (food, tax, gratuity).They charge $8 for a 2 liter soda!Nonetheless,I made the deposit and left.I asked the restaurant if I could bring food in for kids.A woman said it would be OK but they would have to charge me $20-30.I thought it was reasonable & thanked her.Two days before the party,I called to ask if I could drop off the food so it would allow them time to prepare and serve it on the day of.The woman said it was too busy & said to bring it in when they open (11 am) ON the day of the party (party time 11-2 pm).She had another line ringing so she put me on hold before we could finish & never got back on the line.I went in the next day to drop off the food & this is where it all blew up.I met the woman & gave her the food.She changed her fees after looking at it (3 boxes of frozen food) & said it would cost me $40 per item.She stated it ?was a very cheap amount to charge .?I argued that that?s not what she said on the phone & $40 per item was outrageous but she claimed that she had no idea what kind of food I had & that they didn?t know how to prepare it,it would take extra labor,etc.In the end,I paid an extra $30 for each item after speaking to another man.

On the day of my party,I wasn't greeted by anyone,only dirty looks.Up in the party room,there were dirty dishes on one table & all along the back counter.

There was all of ONE person setting up & bussing the tables.There were times when the buffet table was unattended& we served ourselves.So much for ?lots of labor, extra help.?They also put out a stack of dirty ?clean? dishes for us to use.

Our ONE server took awhile to bring the cake out too.He was the one to present us with the bill,which showed yet ANOTHER, undisclosed charge (for falling below the ?minimum? to rent out the room) & they neglected to deduct my deposit.…

Great food but lacking SERVICE!. The food is good; very good - no complaints and only praise. The wine list, however, is tired; the staff know nothing about wine and the choices aren't paired for the cuisine. The wine offered is likely chosen at the suggestion of the distributor who talks to an owner who knows nothing about wine... and/or for the value. Either way, it's a real pitty, because a good white wine with the crab would have made the meal all the better - and there was not a decent bottle on their list.

The Service is just plain bad. Starting with walking in the door; the expressionless hostess reluctantly cleaned a table herself, after keeping our party waiting... the waiters were nowhere to be seen after bringing the food. They servers were friendly, it's just they seemed to have no concept of how to provide good service or any formal training. The bathrooms were also messy and lacked soap.

Then, on the way out, the diservice to customers comes from this restaurant NOT accepting American Express - unfortunately, lack of card aceptance is somewhat a trend for low-budget asian restaurants -- only because the owners don't understand that the fractional difference in merchant fees (when calculating the tru difference btwn visa and amex costs) is easily made up by customers who wil frequent the establishment because of the Card, instead of see it as 'low budget' diner and wonder if the owner also buys produce 'one day old,' just to accomplish the same di minimus "savings"…